PUBLICATION 



-OF THE- 



HOWARD MEMORIAL LIBRARY 



NEW ORLEANS, LA. 



Notes Gathered from the Archives of the Cathedral Church of St. Louis, 
New Orleaiig, Louisiana. 



-B\ - 



CELESTIN M. CHAMBON, 



Curate of the Catkedral 



200 Copies Only Printcci 



NEW ORLEANS, 






1908 



PUBLICATION 



OF 



Howard Memorial Library 



Notes Gathered from the Archives of the Cathedral Church 
of St. Louis, New Orleans, La. 



BY 



CELESTIN M. CHAMBON, Curate of tKe Catkedral. 



Reprinted froii 
]March , 



The Morning Star of 
7, 14, 2], 1908 



Part I. 
The Saint Louis Parish Church of New 

Orleans and the Capuchin Fath3rs 
of France and Spain in Louisi- 
ana.— 1717-1788. 

It is impossible not to feel the peace- 
ful repose, the strange stillness which 
pervades the atmosphere of the Saint 
Louis Cathedral: romance and religion 
blend there more closely than at any 
other spot in this quaint Old City. But 
few, if any, of the vast throngs that 
daily cross its threshold have ever 
given a thought to its predecessor, an 
humble church of old wherein, for more 
than sixty years, Capuchin Fathers 
toiled and ministered to the settlers 
and colonists of the earlier New Or- 
leans. 

This Saint Louis Parish Church, as it 
was called, has long since disappeared, 
its priests are dead, and nothing re- 
mains to tell the tale, but a few docu- 
ments, almost all incomplete, disorder- 
ly, and some, partly altered by legend. 
Xevertheless, each and every one is a 
fragment of history, a vision of the 
past, and all of them deserve to be 



gathered so as to give not only a mere 
accumulation of facts, but also the true 
significance of their compilation. 
A Store of Wood, a Tent, Then a 
Stucco Church, 
were successively the first places of 
worship in New Orleans. 



******»***«» 



Although the Saint Louis Parish 
traces its origin to the very first of the 
foundation of New Orleans, it was not 
the first religious edifice in this city. 
According to the historian Charlevoix, 
the Saint Louis Parish Church was pre- 
ceded by another church and two tem- 
porary shelters devoted to religious 
purposes. 

"I have at last arrived in this fam- 
ous city called La Nouvelle Orleans, 
writes Charlevoix to the Duchess of 
Lesdiguieres on Jan. 10, 1722 * * * 
about a hundred huts placed here and 
there, a large store of wood, one or 
three houses and half of a miserable 
store comprise the town; the humblest 
village in France can boast of better 
homes. It was in this little store the 
Lord was first worshipped, but hardly 
had He been placed therein, when they 
had Him removed to place Him under 
a tent." To our eyes, an utter dis- 



regard of religion, but, little else eoiilcl 
be expected from the settlers who first 
cleared the land and built some hun- 
dred huts along the river. They were 
not May Flower Pilgrims, but mostly 
traders, soldiers and adventurers, whose 
religious feelings had been undoubted- 
ly dulled by their life of travel and 
hardships. 

However, shortly after Charlevoix 's 
visit, and possibly at his own instiga- 
tion, something more decent than a 
tent was offered to the Lord as a house 
of worship. This was a small stucco 
church, the first regular church ever 
built in New Orleans. Loveinstein, in 
his history of the Saint Louis Cathe- 
dral, asserts that this church had been 
dedicated to Saint Ignatius, its rec- 
tor being a Capuchin Father named 
Matthias; but of this we find no rec- 
ord whatsoever. All we know of this 
first parish church of New Orleans is 
its destruction by a terrible hurrican 
which occurred on the 11th of Septem- 
ber, 1723. 

Again New Orleans was without a 
place of worship, and the prospects of 
the Church in this new country would 
have been hopeless if a religious or- 
ganization had not been already 
planned and fostered in Louisiana. 



**«***»**»*» 



Organization of the Catholic Church in 
Louisiana. 

Catholicism had penetrated into 
Louisiana with civilization. De Soto, 
La Salle, Bienville, in all their expedi- 
tions, were accompanied by mission- 
aries. Priests from Canada came down 
the Mississippi with the traders and 
the soldiers to christianize the South- 
ern tribes and minister to the first set- 
tlers scattered along the Gulf and the 
lower banks of the "Great Eiver. " 

But these missionaries were almost 
without resources, completely isolated 
and thus their ministry could not ue 
progressive or fruitful; a more syste- 
matic as well as a broader ecclesiasti- 



cal government was deemed impera- 
tive. 

reports had reached Bishop Saint 
Vallier of Quebec, about the laxity of 
religion and utter disregard of moral 
law then prevailing among the colo- 
nists of Louisiana. These reports, to- 
gether with other statements from au- 
thentic sources about the spiritual des- 
titution of the colony, induced the 
Western Company's Commissioners to 
come to a better fulfillment of the du- 
ties they had shouldered in obtaining 
the monopoly of trade in Louisiana. 
"As we regard, particularly the glory 
of God, reads the 53rd clause of th« 
'Lettres Patentes,' we desire the In- 
habitants, Indians, Negroes, to be 
taught the true religion. The said 
Company shall be compelled to build, 
at its expense, churches at the places 
where it forms settlements, as also to 
maintain the requirsd number of ap- 
proved ecclesiastics?, either with the 
rank of parish priests, or such men as 
shall be suitable to preach the Holy 
Gospel, perform divine service and ad- 
minister the sacraments; all to be un- 
der the authority of the Bishop of 
Quebec, the said colony remaining in 
liis diocese as heretofore, and the par- 
ish priests and other ecclesiastics which 
the Company shall maintain there, be- 
ing at his nomination and under his 
patronage." 

With the Bishop of Quebec's con- 
sent, the Commissaries of the Council 
of the W'sstern Company issued an or- 
dinance, May 16th, 1722, dividing 
Louisiana into three ecclesiastical sec- 
tions. North of the Ohio was intrust- 
ed to 

The Society of Jesus and the Priests of 

the Foreign Missions of Quebec 

and Paris. 

That district between the Mississippi 
and the Eio Perdito, as also the coun- 
try north of the Ohio, was tendered to 
the Discalced Carmelitem Fathers, with 
their headquarters in Mobile. The 
French and Indian settlements of the 






jL> 



!')<)JJ 



Lower Mississippi were assigned to the 
Capucllin Fathers of the Province of 
Champagne, France. 

Not long after, this division was 
greatly altered. The Carmelites were 
recalled and their district given over 
to the Capuchins. But, they, not hav- 
ing the requisite number of priests, 
forced the Western Company to intrust 
the religious welfare of all the Indian 
tribes to the Jesuit Fathers. Thus, 
Louisiana was finally divided between 
the Capuchins and the Jesuits: the 
former in charge of the colonists and 
the latter in charge of the Indians. 
Both the superiors of these orders were 
vicar-generals of the Bishop of Que- 
bec, each in his own jurisdiction. 

The coming of the Capuchin Fathers 
of Champagne in Louisiana was the re- 
sult of a mere coincidence. 



«»**jr»»***»» 



It is no wonder that we find the 
Jesuits among the pioneers of religion 
in Louisiana. They are and have been 
nearly everywhere where Christianity 
could be propagated. But the presence 
of the Capuchins, under these South- 
ern skies, astonishes us somewhat. In 
fact, their coming into this country 
originated from a mere coincidence. 
When the Commissaries of the West- 
ern Company applied for missionaries, 
the spiritual welfare of the Colony was 
intrusted to Louis Francis Duplessis do 
Mornay, Bishop "in partibus" of Eu- 
menia and Coadjutor to the Bishop of 
Quebec. 

This prelate, who had been a Capu- 
chin himself, resided in Paris and from 
there supervised and directed the mis- 
sionaries of the province. When the 
Western Company applied to him in 
1717 for missionaries to be sent in 
Louisiana, Bishop de Mornay tendered 
the offer to the Capuchin Order, from 
which he came. They accepted grate- 
fully and received the King's approval 
on April of the same year. 

However, their earliest appearance in 
their new field of labor is not chroni- 



cled before 1720, three years after 
their assignment. F. Jean Matthieu de 
Saint Anne is the first whose name has 
been recorded in this country. He 
signs himse'lf in the register of the 
parish of New Orleans on the 22d of 
October, 1720, as "Jean Matthieu do 
Saintc Anne, Pretrc Missionaire et 
Cure du Vieux Biloxi." Further on, on 
the 18th of January, 1721, he again 
signs himself as "Vicaire Apostolique 
et cure de La Mobile." 

In 1722 F. Bruno de Langres sailed 
from France with several of his breth- 
ren. F. Eaphael de Luxembourg, Superi- 
or of the Capuchins' Missions in 
Louisiana, arrived the following spring, 
1723, 

And Took Charge of the Parish Church 
of New Orleans. 

A register in the Saint Louis Cathe- 
dral archives shows his signature 
August, 18th, 1723, as "F. Eaphael de 
Luxembourg, Superieur de la Mission 
et cure de I'eglise parroissiale." 

A little later, January, 1724, he adds 
the title of Vicar-General, which he 
had received from the Bishop of Que- 
bec. 



^*s***«*»*»* 



Life of the First Capuchins in 
Louisiana. 

The first Capuchins who came in 
Louisiana had much to contend with 
upon their arrival in New Orleans. 
Their congregation was scattered over 
a large area, and added to their pov- 
erty, there was a total ignorance of re- 
ligion. Colonists were even imbued 
with the skepticism and naturalism, 
which at that time were already under- 
mining the French nation. 

F. Eaphael tells us when he landed 
in New Orleans he could hardly secure 
a room for himself and his brethren to 
occupy, and much less one to convert 
into a chapel, for the population was 
indifferent to all what savored of the 
church. Sundays, a little over than 
tliirty persons attended mass. Un- 
daunted, the Capuchin Fathers toiled 



on and at last were rewarded by see- 
ing dormant hearts pulsate once more 
for their religion. The garb of these 
monks became a familiar sight and the 
ceremonies of the Church brought the 
colonists sweet recollections of their 
mother country. 

Less than a couple of years follow- 
ing his ra-rival, F. Eaphael was glad- 
dened by the erection of a church built 
to replace the first one prematurely de- 
stroyed by the hurricane of Sept. 1723. 
It was of a larger sca'e than the form- 
er, built of brick and dedicated to 
Saint Louis, in honor of Louis the 
Fifteenth, then King of France. 

Thus, after years of hardships and 
trials, tlic Capuchins were comparative- 
ly established in a stately manner, and 
their "Saint Louis Parish Church" 
was destined to become, for a period 
of sixty years and more, the center of 
the colonial life in New Orleans. 



f ******««x** 



A Glimpse of New Orleans, Eighty 

Years Ago. 
and its prospects for the future. 

When New Orleans completed its 
first dccrde of existence, the Saint 
Louis Parish Church was the only re- 
deeming feature of the city. Although 
it was comparatively a small and poor- 
ly decorated church, its spire towered 
over tlic other buildings with some- 
what 01 mtiji sty. The Capuchins' res- 
idence stood at its left, the Guard 
House at its right. In front of its 
porch, tlio "Palace d'Armcs" infolded 
a square of green, through which two 
diagonal alleys led to the harbor. The 
homes of the colonial officials and com 
mercial potentates were mostly situat- 
ed on the water front or along Char- 
tres street. The "Place d'Armes" 
and its surroundings were then the 
fashionable quarter. 

As for the rest, it was forlorn con- 
fusion, and, though the plan of the city 
showed a large parallelogram of five 
thousand feet of river front by a 



depth of eighteen hundred, yet, the 
greatest part of it was rather disor- 
derly and squaliu, the ground being oc- 
cupied but by a few scattered log 
cabins, thatched with cypress, isolatea 
from each other by willow brakes, 
sloughs, brisling with dwarf palmettoes 
and reedy ponds swarming with rep- 
tiles. No one yet had built beyond 
Dauphine street, nor below the Hospi- 
tal — now the corner of Chartres and 
Hospital streets— nor above Bienville 
street, except the Governor, whose pal- 
alace stood at the extreme upper cor- 
ner of the town — now Custom House 
and Decatur streets. 

Such was New Orleans when it com- 
pleted its first decade of existence. If 
we deprive the vision of its halo, the 
New Orleans of 1728 was nothing more 
than a poor village, hastely built be- 
tween a formidable river and dismal 
swamps. Nevertheless it was New Or- 
leans, and beyond the far horizon, the 
wise could foresee its future glory al- 
ready dawning. In his letter to the 
Duchess of Lesdiguieres, Charlevoix 
wrote tliese prophetic words: "My 
hopes, I think, are well founded that 
this wild and desert place, which tho 
reeds and trees still cover almost en- 
tirely, will be one day, and that day 
not far distant, a city of opulence, and 
the metropolis of a great and rich col- 
ony." 

We cannot, indeed, refrain from 
wonder and admiration when we think 
of the little village of 1728, an. I com- 
pare it to the New Orleans of today, 
graciously bending its mighty crescent 
along the restless waters of the Missis- 
sippi. 



Part 11. 

The Social and Religious Life of the 

Early Colonial Times. 

Although New Orleans by no means 
in its beginnings suggested the splen- 
dors of Paris, there was no lack of in- 
terest in its social life. There was a 



Governor with a military staff and the 
army officers, with their manners once 
displayed at the Court of Versailles, 
lent to the colonial life an air of gal- 
lantry and grandeur. As in France, 
in this time, the Government was in 
close touch with the Church: the Gov- 
ernor used to call on the good Capuchin 
Fathers and his wife visited the Ursu- 
line Ladies who had come to take 
charge of the hospital and give the 
daughters of the colonists the thorough 
education imparted in French convents. 
But besides the manners and usages 
imported from the mother country, 
there were also quaint customs which 
gave to the Louisiana of colonial days 
the characteristics so much talked of 
in romance and so little known in his- 
tory. There has been 

Lately Discovered, in the Archives oi 

the Saint Louis Cathedral, 
a document partially illustrating this 
subject. It refers to a meeting held by 
the prominent citizens of the city at 
which were discussed the most feasible 
Avays and means of raising the neces- 
sary funds for the erection of a pres- 
bytery. 

The following extract is translated 
from the original: '"'This second day of 
Nov. 1738, the inhabitants of the col- 
ony assembled at the Hotel of the In- 
tcndance, upon the requisition of F. 
Matthias, Vicar-General of the Bishop 
of Quebec, in presence of Mr. de Bien- 
ville, Governor of the province of 
Louisiana and Mr. Salmon, Commissary 
of the Navy and First Justice of the 
Superior Council. The , assembly had 
been announced yesterday in the par- 
ish church of this city, and the bells 
were rung to call the meeting today." 
Then follow "the deliberations which 
could not be put into execution" on 
account— says a later report — of a war 
and general famine, which broke out 
in the colony." In 1744, this same pro- 
ject was revived and the following res- 
olutions adopted: "A tax of fifty cents 



will be imposed upon all the inhabi- 
tants of the parish for each and every 
head of negroes. In addition to this 
the inhabitants have agreed upon a 
personal tax proportioned to the 
amount of real estate owned by 
them, said amount to be decided by a 
board selected from ten of the most 
prominent citizens.". 

Through the generosity of the parish- 
ioners the presbytery was erected. 
There dwelt the parish priest, F. Ea- 
phael de Luxembourg with his assist- 
ant, F. Hyacinthe, and the school mas- 
ter. Father Cecil. It also served as 
"a pied a terre" for the following 
Capuchin Fathers, then in charge of 
the country missions: F, Theodore, 
from Chapitoulas, F. Philippe, from Les 
Allemands; F. Gaspard, from La Ba- 
lize; F. Mathias, from La Mobile; F. 
Maximin, from Natchitoches; F. Phil- 
ibcrt, from Natchez; F. Victoria Du- 
puy, from Les Apalaches. 
* * * 

The War Between the Capuchins and 
the Jesuits. 

The decisions of the Western Com- 
pany, gave to the Capuchins the ex- 
clusive control of the colonists; as we 
already know, the evangelization ot 
the Indians had been intrusted to the 
Jesuit Fathers. Their Superior, F. 
Petit, resided in New Orleans, as the 
most convenient place as also to have 
his headquarters in which to direct and 
support his brethren in charge of the 
tribes and whose names, taken from a 
report of that time are recorded be- 
low: 

F. Poisson, with the Arkansas. 

F. Tartarin and Le Boulenger at 
Kaskia. 

F. Guypeneau among the Metchiga- 
meas. 

F. Doutrelcau on the Ouabache. F. 
Souel among the Y^zoos. 

F. Beaudoin, who was then attempt- 
ing the dangerous task of establishing 
a mission among the treacherous Chica- 
saws. 



Notwithstanding the distinct and 
separate jurisdiction of the Capuchins 
and of the Jesuits, there occurred some 
friction between these two orders, 
which gave rise to a series of conten- 
tions known derisively as the "War of 
the Capuchins with Jesuits." 

Father Beaudouin, having received 
a commission as Vicar-General from 
the Bishop of Quebec, performed in 
that capacity certain ceremonies in the 
city. The Capuchin Fathers, together 
with the Councilmen, protested against 
what they considered an encroachment 
upon their rights in their jurisdiction, 
adding that according to their agree- 
ment with the Vvestern Company, the 
Superior of the Jesuits could reside in 
New Orleans, but could not, without 
their consent, perform therein any re- 
ligious function. To this, the Jesuits 
objected, maintaining that there was 
no violation of the established rules, 
as their superior acted not as a Jesuit, 
but as Vicar-General of the Bishop of 
Quebec. So the motive of the famous 
war was a mere question of jurisdic- 
tion; in reality a petty discussion un- 
worthy of notice. Some writers, how- 
ever, have exaggerated its import- 
ance, but failed at the same time 
to emphasize the shameful spolia- 
tion of the Jesuits by the French 
Government, which suddenly put an 
end to the quarrel. For it was at this 
same time, the 9th of June, 1763, an 
act of the Superior Council of Louisi- 
ana suppressed the Order of the Jesu- 
its throughout the colony, saying it was 
dangerous to the royal authority, to 
the rights of the bishops, to the pub- 
lic peace and safety. The Jesuits were 
forbidden to use the name of their so- 
ciety as also their habit. Their prop- 
erty was confiscated and sold for $180,- 
000. Moreover, the Jesuits were not 
only deprived of their property, but 
their chapel was levelled to the ground, 
leaving exposed the vaults wherein the 
dead were interred. They were com- 
pelled to give up their missions, and 



were placed on a vessel about to sail 
for France. 

Not only did the Capuchins forget 
their dissensions, but interfered in the 
liehalf of the Jesuits, going so far as 
to offer them a temporary shelter along- 
side their own. The latter, greatly 
pleased by this solicitude, expressed 
their gratitude by leaving their hosts 
the books they had saved from the 
spoliation. 

It is sad to say that the same writer 
who described the Capuchin war to its 
triflling details, did not find a single 
word wherewith to blame the spoliators 
who marred our history with such a 
shameful crime against the right of 
property and human liberty. 

Among the men responsible for this 
horrible profanation, La Freniere's 
name alone descended to us. Strange to 
say this fate was an awful one. Less 
than six j^ears after the exile of the 
Jesuits he was charged with conspiracy 
and put to death by the Spanish Gov- 
ernment. In history he is ranked 
among the martyrs of liberty; but who 
could heartily give such a title to the 
very one who shamefully wronged his 
fellow citizens, and banished those who 
had contributed so much, both to the 
social and the material advancement 
of the colony? 

* » » 

O'Reilly and Spanish Capucliins Land 
in Louisiana. 

Out of the nine or ten Capuchins 
left in Louisiana, when the Jesuits 
were expelled, five resided in New Or- 
leans, with F. Dagobert de Longy at 
their head. He had succeeded as su- 
perior F. Hilaire de Genevaux, exiled 
from the province some year previous, 
for having refused to share in a scheme 
of revolt planned by the councilmen 
against the Spaniards. F. Dagobert 
was well known and beloved in the 
oolony. Having landed in New Or- 
leans in the very beginnig of 1723, he 
was already an old man when promot- 



cd to 'the Superiorship of his Order. He 
lived long enough, however, to witness 
the landing of the Spaniards, as also 
the first years of O'Eeiily's adminis- 
tration. It was he who stood on the 
threshold of the church to welcome 
that famous general in the name of 
the clergy and parishioners, when the 
latter, on the 18th of August, 1769, 
surrounded by his escort in gorgeous 
array, crossed the "Place d'Armes" 
and proceeded to the churcii. 

Amidst all the honors and solemni- 
ties befitting the occasion, F. Dago- 
bert promised fidelity to the crown of 
Spain and blessed the new colors which 
were hoisted in place of the white ban- 
ner of France. 

The change of government caused a 
change of ecclesiastical jurisdiction. 
The province passed from the hands of 
the Bishop of Quebec to the hands of 
the Bishop of Santiago of Cuba. At 
first the new prelate confirmed i'. 
Dagobert in his capacity of Vicar-Gen- 
eral, with which he had been invest- 
ed after the expulsion of the Jesuits. 
This was the wish of Louis tha 
Fifteenth, who asked, in the cession of 
Louisiana, "for the ecclesiasticals to 
be continued in their functions in the 
province." But, soon, this royal wish 
■was disregarded and not long after 
the landing of O'Eeilly, Spanish Capu- 
chins began to fill the place of their 
French brethren. 

This action, however, did not pass 
without trouble, and the same monks 
who protested against the alleged en- 
croachments of the Jesuits, tried, some 
ten years after, to oppose the preten- 
tions of the Spanish Capuchins. Con- 
tradictory reports reached the new 
bishop about religious conditions in 
Louisiana, and led him to investigate. 
For this purpose, he sent F. Cyrillo de 
Barcellone, with four Spanish Capu- 
chins, to New Orleans, namely: jj', 
Francisco, F. Angel de Kevillagodos, F. 
Louis de Qiiintanilla and F. Aleman. 



They landed on the 19th of July, 1773. 
1'. Dagobert, leading the French Capu- 
chins, and followed by a large crowd 
went in a procession to the levee. 
Standing in front of the "Place 
d'Arines the new comers were received 
with due honors and great demonstra- 
tions of joy. The next day they were 
formally presented to Gov. Unzaga. i: 
Cyrillo then presented his credentials 
from the bishop, whereup the Governor 
expressed his willingness to carry into 
execution the mandates of his superior, 
the Bishop of Cuba. 

Fathers Aleman and Angel de Eevil- 
lagodos were at once appointed to par- 
ishes requiring pastors, and F. Cyrillo, 
with his two other campions remained 
in New Orleans as F. Dagobert 's 
guests. This arrangement, however, 
was not destined to last, both charac- 
ters being utterly dissimilar. F. Da- 
gobert was more a father than a monk; 
having come into the colony as a young 
missionary, he had baptized and mar- 
ried almost every one. He was kind, 
meek, and always ready to render a, 
service to the humblest of his flock, 
thus inspiring love instead of fear and 
mistrust. 

Father Cyrillo was the very opposite 
of this. Brought up in the Spanish 
convents, where stern discipline knew 
no master, he always abided by the 
rigid rules of his Order. Therefore, the 
manner in which his French brethren 
exercised their duties seemed scanda- 
lous to him, and he informed the Bish- 
op of Cuba concerning what he con- 
sidered lax methods of administration. 
Gov. Unzaga interfered in behalf of 
the French Capuchins, and wrote a 
letter of remonstrance to the Bishop, 
in which he censured the Spanish friars 
severely. This offended the Bishop and 
botk parties referred the matter to the 
Spanish Court. The Government, with- 
out expressing a decisive opinion, ad- 
vised both prelate and Governor to 
compromise their disagreement so as 
to better preserve harmony between 



civil and ecclesiastical authorities. And 
peace was once more restored: F. Cyril- 
lo continued to minister with an in- 
dominitable zeal, whilst 
F. Dagobert Remained in Charge of 

The Saint Louis Parochial Church 
of New Orleans Until His Death, 
which occurred on the 31st of May, 
1776. 

The funeral services were conducted 
by F. Cyrillo himself, and he signed 
the following entry in the mortuary 
register: 

"I, Cyrillo de Barcelone per 

formed the funeral service of Eev. 
Dagobert of Longuy of the province 
of Champagne, a member of the Capu- 
chin Order and apostolic missionary of 
this Province for fifty-three years, 
eleven months and eleven days, as it 
appears from his act of obedience to 
the Eev. Bartholome y Faxera. He was 
rector of this Parish Church when he 
died, at the age of seventy-four years, 
nine months and eleven days, on the 
31st of May, having received all the 
sacraments of the Church in the pres- 
bytery. 

"New Orleans, June 1st, 1776. 
"REA\ CYEILLO DE BAECELONE." 



True Light Thrown on the Famous 
Quarrel Between the Capuchins and 
Jesuits — The First Auxiliary Bishop 
of New Orleans Appointed in 1781 — 
Father Cyrillo de Barcelona, Father 
Dagobert and Pere Antoine — Full 
List of Ractors of the Old St. Louis 
Church, From Its Foundation Till Its 
Destruction by Fire in 1788— The 
Present Cathedral Rises on the Ruins 
of the Ancient Edifice. 



Part III. 

True History of "Quarrel of the 

Capuchins." 

The same historian, who related, as 
the world believes, so graphically, even 
to the minutest details, the war of the 
Capuchins with the Jesuitsi, deemed 
"it not inappropriate" to give in full 



the dreadful letters of Cyrillo; but, 
tlie histoiiau had failed to offer a true 
explanation of the cause and character 
of the whole quarrel. 

Some speak of F. Father Dagobert 
as if he was a saint, others paint him 
in the most uglist colors. But all ex- 
aggerate, and it is more truthful to 
say that F. Dagobert deserves neither 
that excess of honor, bestowed on him 
by some, nor the indignity heaped up- 
on his memory by others. Gov. Unzaga 
eulogizes F. Dagobert and refers to hijii 
as a man loved and revered by the peo- 
ple, a most deserving priest in whom 
one could not detect a single one of 
tiie crimes imputed to him. Moreover, 
if he had been as this historian depicts 
him, he could not have escaped Count 
O'Eeilly's vigilant eye, as the latter 
lived but a few yards distant from 
him, and would have had him removed 
for less than his accusers charged him. 
"The declarations which are sometimes 
found in the writings of that day, re- 
specting clerical depravity," says a 
writer, whose impartility is universally 
recognized, "as a rule, had their 
origin in montastic prejudice or secu- 
lar antipathies. 
The Clergy Must Have Shared in the 

Virtues of that Period, 
for, otherwise, their influence among 
the people would appear incomprehen- 
sible." 

As to Cyrillo 's accusations, they 
must not be attributed to bad faith; 
for when he arrived in Louisiana, he 
was totally ignorant of the customs 
and language of the country. Misguid- 
ed by his zeal, he saw in F. Dagobert 's 
methods much to censure, and thought 
it his duty to express his indignation 
to the Bishop of Cuba. 

But to depict F. Cyrillo as ambi- 
tious and intriguing, would be doing 
him a most undeserved injustice, as he 
led a very saintly life during his stay 
in the colony. When F. Cyrillo suc- 
ceeded F. Dagobert as the head of the 
parochial church of New Orleans, the 



King of Sjjain was informed that the 
Sacrament of Confirmation had never 
been administered in Louisiana, owing 
to the impossibility of the Bishop of 
Cuba traveling to such a remote part 
of his diocese. Therefore, the King 
resolved in his Council of the Indies, 
July 10th, 1779, to apply to the Holy 
See to give the Superior of the mis- 
sions in Louisiana the power to confer 
Confirmation for a period of twenty 
years. This proposition was not fav- 
orably received. 
But Appointmsnt of an Auxiliary 
Bishop 
was suggested with his headquarters in 
New Orleans whence he could visit the 
missions on the Mississippi as well as 
Mobile, Pensacola and St. Augustine. 
The Pope favored the plan and ap- 
pointed F. Cyrillo de Bareelone, Auxil- 
iary Bishop to the See of Santiago of 
Cuba, with the title of Bishop "in 
partibus infidelium" of Tricali. The 
new prelate was consecrated in 1781 
and preceded to New Orleans, which 
then 

For the First Time, Enjoyed the Pres- 
e:i^G of a Eisliop. 
Cyrillo, bclr.g a really holy and saint- 
ly man, infused new life into the prov- 
ince. In 1786, he issued a pastoral let- 
ter, urging his flock in eloquent terms 
to attend mass on Sundays and Holy- 
days, denouncing the wicked custom of 
the negroes, who, at the vespers hour, 
assembled in a green expanse called 
"Place Congo" to dance the bambou- 
la and perform the hideous rites im- 
ported from Africa by the Yolofs, Fou- 
lahs, Bambarras, Mandigees and other 
races" of the dark Continent. 

This zealous prelate proved tireless, 
faithfully visiting the country parishes, 
And Leaving on the Parochial Regis- 
ter a Detailed Report of his Inves- 
tigations, 
urging everywhere tac careful fulfil- 
ment of the mandates of the Council of 
Trent. During his administration the 
number of priests in Louisiana in- 
ccreased rapidly and from the official 



accounts we find five priests in New 
Orleans and one early in the following 
places: Terre aux Boeux, Saint Charles, 
Saint John the Baptist, or Bonnet Car- 
re, Saint James, Ascension; St. Gabriel 
at Iberville, Pointe Coupee, Attakapas, 
Opelousas, Natchitoches, Natchez, Saint 
Louis, Sainte Genevieve, Saint Bernard, 
at Manchac, or Galveston. 

Bishop Cyrillo 's services in Louisiana 
were cut short by the 
Establishment of the Province Into a 
Diocese Independant from the See 

of Cuba, in 1793. 
"His Holiness, wrote the King, on 
the 23rd or Nov. 1793, having issued 
the consistorial decree for the dismem- 
berment of Louisiana and Florida and 
the establishment of a new Bishopric in 
these provinces, I have decided to with- 
draw your office of auxiliary, and or- 
der you to return to your Capuchin 
Province of Catalongnia, with a salary 
of $1,000 per year." 

Bishop Cyrillo returned to Havana 
and abided with the Hospital Friars un- 
til such time as he could obtain pay- 
ment of his salary, whereby he could 
obej^ the King by returning to his own 
country. We have no record of when 
or how Bishop Cyrillo died. But this 
much we know, his life was one of 
trials and hardships, ending in poverty 
and humility. Such was the man who 
unconsciously started and fought the 
famous "Quarrel of the Capuchins." 

The lives and the deeds of both F. 
Dagobert and Cyrillo, better than any 
plea, show that the quarrel originated 
from the contact of two men diversely 
educated, but by no means sprung from 
their ambition or jealousy. Instead of 
"an historical illustration" that Gay- 
arre deemed "not inappropriate" to 
insert in his history, he has only suc- 
ceeded in writing a tale "A la Rabe- 
lais," but in a much less talented way. 
The Saint Louis Parish Church De- 
stroyed by Fire. 
^Vhen Bishop Cyrillo was appointed 
Auxiliary Bishop to the Sec of Cuba, 
with the special care of Louisiana and 



10 



Florida, he resigned the rectorship of 
the Saint Louis Parochial Church and 
appointed in his stead F. Antonio do 
Sedela y Arze. 

This famous monk, iDetter known as 

"Pere Antoine," Was the Last Rec- 
tor of the Parish Church, 

but by no means the less illustrious. 

If we include the two priests who 
had exercised the functions of rectors 
in New Orleans, previously to the erec- 
tion of the Saint Louis Parish Church 
in 1724 or 1725, w© obtain the follow- 
ing complete list of the rectors of the 
ecclesiastical parish of New Orleans, 
from the foundation of the city to 1788, 
when the Saint Louis Parish Church 
met with its unexpected fate: 

F. Prothay Boyer, 1720 a Eecollet. 

F. Joseph de Saint Charles, 1721, a 
priest of the congregation of Saint 
Theresa. 

The Eev. John Matthew of Saint Ann 
and J. Richard performed their sacred 
ministry in New Orleans from time to 
time about 1720, but never assumed the 
title of rector. They signed "Rector 
of the 'Vieux Biloxi.' " 

F. Bruno de Langres, was one of the 
first Capuchins who landed in New Or- 
leans. He signs as rector of the city 
from 1722 until 1723, till the arrival of 
his Superior. 

F. Raphael de Luxembourg, first 
Superior of the Capuchins, and rector 
from 1723 to his death in 1735. 

F. Matthias, his successor was de- 
prived of his functions in 1739 and was 
succeeded by 

F. Phillipe de Genevaux, also dis- 
missed in 1741, and succeeded by 
Charles de Rambervilliers, a holy man, 
who did much to assure and maintain 
The Concord Between the Jesuits and 
the Capuchins. 

He died about 1746 and left as his 
successor F. Dagobert de Longuy. This 
latter quarrelled again with the Jesuits 
and was succeeded by George de Fau- 
quemont in 1753. After the expulsion 
of the Jesuits, De Fauquemont was sup- 
planted by 



Hilairc de Genevaux, who arrived 
from France in August, 1764. The fol- 
lowing year he was banished by the 
Superior Council and for the second 
time 

F. Dagobert de Longuy was appoint- 
ed Superior of the Capuchin Fathers, 
which office he retained until his death 
in 1776. Following him came. 

F. Cyrillo de Barcelone, who himself 
appointed as his successor F. Antonio 
de Sedella in or about 1785. 

The later had been in charge but a 
few years when the Saint Louis Parish 
Church, perished in the great conflagra- 
tion that swept a large area of the 
city, on March 21st, 1788. So, unex- 
pectedly, there was erased from the 
heart of the city this church, in which 
during more than that sixty years the 
people of New Orleans came to wor- 
ship. Being the only parochial church 
of the city during this time, it was 
in colonial days, the center of the 
social and religious life. 

With the old parish church disap- 
peared the last witness of romantic and 
chivalrous Louisiana. But its ashes 
proved immortal, as less than six years 
after the awful Good Friday of 1788, a 
majestic Cathedral rose on the very 
sopt whereupon stood the ' ' Saint Louis 
Parochial Church. ' ' So indelibly linked 
with the history of colonial days in 
New Orleans. 
Cfr.: 

Martin: History of Louisiana. 

Gayarre: History of Louisiana. 

Fortier: History of Louisiana. 

Essays Educational and Historical, 
by a member of the Order of Mercy. 

Lovenstein: A history of the Saint 
Louis Cathedral. 

Sketch of the Catholic Church in 
Louisiana, by James Augustin. 

Castellanos: New Orleans as it was. 

F. Camille de Rochemontaix: Les 
Jesuites et la Nouvell France au 18me 
siecle. 

Archives of the Saint Louis Cathe- 
dral: Records of the Trustee's Meet- 
ings: Mortuary register of 1776. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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